A&E: Behind the Scene

Apr. 19, 2013

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Ames choir sings for 20 years (but not all at once)

The Ames women’s choir Good Company celebrates its 20th anniversary with a concert at 7 p.m. tonight at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 209 Colorado Ave. in Ames.

Three local musicians have been campaigning for public votes for a chance to conduct “How Can I Keep From Singing?” — a fitting anthem for the event.

Clive is about to get noisier

After years of Monday night jam sessions at Altoona’s Adventureland, the Des Moines Big Band is moving this Monday into new digs at El Palacio Cultural Event Center, 8900 Hickman Road in Clive. The concert starts at 6:30 p.m. each Monday.

Meanwhile, the Des Moines Public Library celebrates jazz history with an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. today at the Central branch. See old instruments, antique phonographs and old photos taken by the jazz musician Tony Garrett, who will be on hand to answer questions.

Prussian sword? Check. 24 bikes? Still needed.

After the Register published an article earlier this month about the Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, a reader contacted the museum to loan it a Prussian sword one of his ancestors had once kept in a barn back in Denmark.

Maybe you have some artifacts stashed away somewhere, too. The State Historical Museum of Iowa plans to open in July an exhibition about the history of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. Curators recently sent out a call for odds and ends, including: 24 bicycles of various models from the last 40 years, jerseys, tents, photos, rain gear, maps, and souvenirs from RAGBRAI legends like Mr. Pork Chop and Chris Cakes. Find the complete list on RAGBRAI’s Facebook page.